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The Great Depression

The Teach Tennessee History website is designed to assist teachers in implementing the 2015 Tennessee State Social Studies Standards. Please use the menu links to the left to access the following resources for the Great Depression:

ETHS Teaching Materials: Click on ETHS Teaching Materials to find student-friendly essays and classroom activities developed by ETHS staff. The essays and activities are designed based on the Tennessee Social Studies Standards. The downloadable teacher packets also include primary sources and images when available.

5.51 Compare and contrast a first hand and second hand account of the impact of the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. (E, G, C)

Standards US.45-US.53

The Great Depression

Students analyze the causes and effects of the Great Depression and how the New Deal fundamentally changed the role of the federal government.

US.45 Analyze the causes of the Great Depression, including the following: (E, H)

the economic cycle driven by overextension of credit

overproduction in agriculture and manufacturing

laissez faire politics

buying on margin

excess consumerism

rising unemployment

the crash of the stock market

high tariffs

US.46 Describe the steps taken by President Hoover to combat the economic depression, including his philosophy of “rugged individualism,” the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, and the response to the “Bonus Army.” (E, P)

US.47 Write a narrative piece that includes multiple media components to describe the toll of the Great Depression on the American people, including massive unemployment, migration, and Hoovervilles. (C, E, H, G)

US.48 Analyze the causes and consequences of the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s. (C, E, H, G)

US.49 Identify and explain the following New Deal programs and assess their past or present impact: (E, H, P, TN)